Air conditioning apparatus



April 26, 1938. H. s. WOODRUFF AIR CONDITIONING AFPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 20, 1956 INVENTOR QQQQQQ ATTORN April 26, 1938. H. s. WOODRUFF AIR CONDITION ING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 20, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR-L 8% M. M wig? ATTORN April 1938. H. s. WOODRUFF 2,115,294

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 20, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 26, 1938 UNITED! STATES PATENT OFFICE AIR conm'rronmc mm'rus York Application October 20; 1936, Serial No. 106,547

4' Claims.

This invention is directed to an improvement in air conditioning equipment, and has for one of its objects the provision of an extremely simple, compact, relatively inexpensive and very eflicient unit.

My improved equipment in general comprises an enclosing cabinet within which I provide a compressor, a motor for driving the same, a condenser, a fan for air cooling the compressor, motor and condenser, conditioning coils and an air circulating fan by which air to be conditioned is drawn into the cabinet and then discharged therefrom, the compressor, motorand fans being vertically disposed and in vertical alignment, thereby conserving floor space.

More specifically the present invention provides new and novel means for re-evaporating and disposing of moisture which condenses on the cooling or conditioning coils.

It has been suggested heretofore to dispose of such condensate by allowing it to flow over the condenser where it is re-evaporated, the vapor being carried out by the air passing over the condenser. A certain amount of energy is reclaimed in this way since the condensate is relatively cold and by raising its temperature and re-evaporating it on the condenser surface, condensation of the refrigerant inside the tubes is accelerated. There is a disadvantage to such a system, however, in that under certain atmospheric conditions moisture is condensed more rapidly on the cooling coils than it is re-evaporated on the condenser, in which event it must be caught in a suitable drip pan as it runs off the condenser and the pan must be emptied from time to time.

The present invention provides an entirely different plan for disposing of this condensate, without the objectionable features above referred to of the old plan.

Briefly the present invention provides for breaking up the condensate into a fine mist, which is contacted with air previously passed over the compressor and condenser of the equipment. This air, of course, is at a relatively high temperature and relatively dry so that it is in condition readily to take on more moisture. place within the housing of the blower by which the condensate is vaporized, and to reclaim some of the energy and cooling effect of evaporation, the compressor discharge pipe which leads to the condenser is clamped against the blower housing with good thermal contact. The gas passing through this discharge pipe is of course at the hottest part of its cycle, and as the condensate is evaporated in the blower housing heat is absorbed from the blower housing and in turn from the dis- This action takes.

charge pipe and the gas passing through it, thereby reducing the work to be done by the condenser proper, reducing head pressure of the gas and thereby reducing the power requiredof the motor.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevational view of an embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevational view of another embodiment of my invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 2 designates an enclosing cabinet. This cabinet which is felt lined is provided at its upper end with air conditioning chamber 4. The side walls of this conditioning chamber are provided with air intake grilles 6, while its ceiling is provided with air discharge grille 8.

Within the conditioning chamber is air intake and discharge fan III, rotated in a horizontal plane and surrounded by air conditioning coils l2, the function of this fan being to draw air into the conditioning chamber and about the coils l2 and then to discharge the conditioned air to the exterior of the cabinet.

In the lower part of the cabinet 2 is a compressor ll driven by an electric motor l6, this motor being disposed vertically and in vertical aligmnent with the compressor II. The armature shaft I8 of the motor extends vertically through the transverse plate or partition l9 providing the floor of the conditioning chamber 4, and is coupled to the air circulating fan III.

A centrifugal fan 20 is mounted on the motor shaft 18 immediately beneath the chamber floor I9. I

Banks of condenser coils 22 are provided within the cabinet 2, these coils surrounding the motor It.

The centrifugal fan 20, its housing '34, compressor l4, motor l6 and the condenser coils are all mounted within a cylindrical shell 3, covered with acoustic felt 5. The motor l6 and compressor H are resiliently mounted on or attached to mounting brackets l5, these brackets being attached at their outer ends to the wall of the shell 3. These brackets are somewhat flexible in the direction of rotation of the motor l6 so as to reduce to some extent the transmission of torsional stresses to the shell 3.

The condenser coils 22 are suspended from the upper set of mounting brackets 15 by hangers ll.

The cabinet 2 rests upona base IS. The shell 3 is disposed eccentrically to-the cabinet and is open at its lower end. This provides an air intake passageway 24 from the exterior of the l4 passes by way of tubing or pipe 23 to the infan 23.

cabinetdown along the inside of the cabinet between it and the eil 3, the air passing around the lower, end 0 the shell and thenupwardl'y within the shell, finally to pass out of the cabinet through passageway 26. The air passing upwardly through the shell 3 sweeps over and about the compressor i4, motor l8 and condenser 22 as will be understood. This air is drawn into the apparatus and discharged therefrom by the centrifugal fan as will be appreciated.

The refrigerant compressed by the compressor take end of coils 30 lying directly beneath and in good thermal contact with the underside of the fioor or bottom 32 of the housing 34 for the It is to be noted that the bottom of this housing is somewhat pan-shaped.

The discharge end of the pipe or tube 30 is connected by tubing 36 to the. upper header 33 'of the condenser coils 22, so that the refrigerant passes from the tubing 30 through the condenser coils 22 and into liquid receiver 40. The liquid refrigerant is forced out of this receiver by the compressor l4 through tubing 42 which extends vertically of'the cabinet to expansion valve 44 in the conditioning chamber 4, the refrigerant expanding in the conditioning coils l2 and re.- turning to the intake side of the compressor by pipe 46.

The plate or partition 19 constituting the fioor of the conditioning chamber is provided with orifices 48, so that water condensing on the coils i2 will trickle dcwn through these holes or orifices upon the centrifugal fan 20, where it is immediately broken up into a fine mist by the disc at the top of the fan and thrown against the side walls of the relatively hot fan housing 34 in a thin film, bearing in mind that the coils 30 of the discharge line 28 are in good thermal contact with the housing.

The air entering the blower housing on its way to exit 26 has, as already explained, passed over the compressor I4, motor I6 and condenser coils 22, and taken up heat from these parts. At the same time its relative humidity has been lowered, so that it is in condition to take up the moisture on the side walls of the blower housing.

It will be appreciated, of course, that the fan 20 causes this air to move around in the blower housing with great turbulence and velocity, tending to bring it into active contact with the film of water on the walls of the housing and with any water which has accumulated in the bottom of the housing/ A suitable arrangement of baflles 50 is provided adjacent the holes 43 in the fioor l9 so as to prevent air under pressure in the blower housing .from blowing back through the holes 48 and thereby prevent the condensate from tricklin down upon the fan.

I have already explained that the discharge pipe 28 of the compressor leads directly to the coils 3|! which are in good thermal contact with the bottom of the blower housing. The gas passing through this pipe is at the hottest part of its cycle, and as the condensate is evaporated in the blower housing, heat is absorbed from the housing and from the discharge pipe andi'rom the gas passing through the discharge pipe, thus reducing the work to be done by the condenser proper, reducing the head pressure of the gas and hence the power required of the motor.

The conditioning coils I2 are mounted in hangers 2|, the upper ends of which are attached to the fan orifice 23 and the lower ends to the plate I I. The fan housing 34 is secured to the underside of this plate l3.

.I have already explained that the compresso motor and. condenser are carried by the shell 3. The plate or partition I! is also carried by this shell and inasmuch as the conditioning coils and fan housing are attached to this plate or partition, they too are carried by the shell. By reason of this construction I provide a unitary structure which as a unit I can suspend by springs from the top of the'inside of the cabinet 2.

In assembly the entire internal components of my apparatus as a unit are placed upon the base unit, the spring connections made at the top of the cabinet and adjusted until the unit is raised from the base and is truly suspended. This construction together with the lining of the cabinet and of the shell 3 with sound deadening material such as acoustic felt makes for an extremely quiet apparatus.

The described assembly has a further advan- IS. The cabinet 2 may then be placed over this tage in that the cabinet may be readily changed if desired, and if repairs are to be made to the unit access may readily be had thereto by removal of the cabinet.

Referring to the embodiment of my invention as illustrated in Fig. 4, theenclosing cabinet II .is provided with air conditioning chamber 62 in the upper part thereof, this chamberas in the embodiment of my invention already described being equipped with air conditioning coils 64. Air is drawn into this conditioning chamber through air intake grilles 66 by means of a fan 68 located in the conditioning chamber and driven by the motor Ill. The motor I0 is also mounted in the conditioning chamber 62 on springs 12. The fan 63 discharges the conditioned air to the exterior of the cabinet through discharge grilles I4.

The motor III is vertically disposed and on the end of the armature shaft opposite the fan 63 This fan I6, it will be the cabinet, across "and around the condenser 82 and motor compressor unit 80, the air passing through the fan intake 90 from whence it is discharged to the exterior of the cabinet through conduit 92.

In the operation of this apparatus the motor compressor unit 80 forces the compressed conditioning fluid through discharge pipe 94 and condenser 82, the condensed fluid passing to the liquid receiver 84 from whence it-is forced through.

pipe 96 and past expansion valve 98 to the conditioning coils 64, so as to condition the air drawn into the cabinet by the fan 68.

The outlet end of the conditioning coils 64 is connected by a pipe I00 to the intake side of the motor compressor unit 30. f

It is to be noted that if desired the floor 18 of the conditioning chamber 62 may be provided with outlets similar to the outlets 48 of the first embodiment of my invention above described to permit condensate collecting on the conditioning coils to trickle down upon the centrifugal fan 16 to be broken up or atomized and become entrained in the relatively hot air which has been drawn by the fan 16 across the condenser and motor compressor unit, the air as above described finally discharging from the cabinet through conduit 92. In this way any condensate collecting on the pipes or conditioning coils N is automatically disposed of.

It will be understood that changes maybe made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts within the purview of my invention.

, What I claim is:

1. Air conditioning apparatus comprising in combination an enclosing cabinet, air conditioning coils at the upper part of the cabinet, a compressor, a motor for driving the same and a condenser below said conditioning coils, said compressor and condenser being connected to said conditioning coils, a fan housing, and a centrifugal tan in said housing adapted to draw air into the cabinet about said compressor, motor and condenser and to discharge the air from the cabinet, said fan causing said air after the same has passed about the compressor, motor and condenser to pick up the condensate from the conditioning coils collecting in the Ian housing.

2. Air conditioning apparatus comprising in combination air conditioning coils, a motor driven compressor and a condenser for supplying a condensed compressed conditioning fluid to said conditioning coils, a blower for air cooling said compressor and condenser, a housing for said blower, said housing being located below the said conditioning coils, a line from the high pressure side of said compressor to said condenser and having good thermal contact with said blower housing, whereby moisture condensing on the conditioning coils and passing to the blower housing will be evaporated and entrained in the air which has passed the compressor and condenser.

3. Air conditioning apparatus comprising in combination air conditioning coils, a centrifugal blower below said coils and in position to receive moisture condensing on said conditioning coils, a housing for the blower, said blower atomizing the condensate and throwing the same against the side walls and bottom of said housing to be evaporated, an air passagewayfor the passage of air under the action of said blower around said compressor and condenserand from thence vto the exterior of the apparatus, said air after it passes the compressor and condenser contacting said vaporized condensate and carrying the same to the exterior of the apparatus.

4. Air conditioning apparatus comprising in combination air conditioning coils, a motor-driven compressor and a condenser for supplying conditioning fluid to said coils, means for circulating air to be conditioned about said coils, means for circulating other air about said compressor and condenser to cool the same and discharging this air to the exterior of the apparatus, said last mentioned air circulating means being so positioned with respect to the conditioning coils that moisture from the air circulating about the conditioning coils and condensing thereon becomes entrained with the relatively hot air which has been circulated about said compressor and condenser and is discharged from the apparatus.

HENRY S. WOODRUFF. 

